


Daemons in the Drift

by amusewithaview



Series: Have Daemon, Will Travel [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, Gen, Soul Bond, drabble-verse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-25
Packaged: 2017-12-28 21:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a large husky lying sprawled on the wrinkled sheets, red and white fur a good deal more tangled-looking than it had been in the ID photo from the start of Becket’s service, but this was not what made the hairs on the back of Stacker’s neck rise in creeping horror. No, what chilled his blood was the small, sleek black cat shedding gold dust as it rested between the husky’s paws.</p><p>“Yancy didn’t survive our last drift,” Becket said softly, “but Calliope <i>did</i>.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zoi no miko (zoi_no_miko)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoi_no_miko/gifts).



“ _Haven't you heard Mr. Becket? The world is coming to an end. So where would you rather die: here? Or in a Jaeger?_ ”  
  
Raleigh sighed and rolled his shoulders back, a gesture his brother would have recognized, but - “When I drifted with Yancy, at the end…I was with him when he died. We were still connected.” His gaze flicked back to Stacker, eyes intent, “It left a mark on me, on my soul. I don’t know if I  _can_  drift with anyone else, ever again.”  
  
Pentecost frowned, “What happened to you, Ranger?”  
  
Raleigh gave a twisted smile. “It’d be easier to show you.”  
  
\-----   
If the dingy state of Becket’s wardrobe hadn’t been a tip off, the cramped nature of his accommodations would have been more than enough to tell the sad story of the Ranger’s life, post-Gipsy. Stacker kept his face blank as he followed the shorter man across the tiny room that was a combined kitchen, living area, and bedroom. He found his poker face sorely tested when he saw what was lying on Beckett’s bed.  
  
There was a large husky lying sprawled on the wrinkled sheets, red and white fur a good deal more tangled-looking than it had been in the ID photo from the start of Becket’s service, but this was not what made the hairs on the back of Stacker’s neck rise in creeping horror. No, what chilled his blood was the small, sleek black cat shedding gold dust as it rested between the husky’s paws.  
  
“Yancy didn’t survive our last drift,” Becket said softly, “but Calliope  _did_.”


	2. Chapter 2

Mako's face fell when she saw the grim look on her  _sensei's_  face and Iphigenia's flattened ears as they descended the from the helicopter, but just as quickly as her spirits had sunk, they skyrocketed when she saw Raleigh Becket swiftly follow him.  
  
She smiled blandly through the Marshall's brief introduction, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Raleigh's face despite her dismay at his daemon's ragged appearance.  
  
" _They're not what we expected,_ " Katsu hissed softly into her ear, sticking to their native tongue in the mixed company.  
  
" _And what did you expect?_ " the husky, Thalia - according to their file, asked curiously. She had her head cocked to one side, tongue lolling from her mouth in an expression Mako would have called 'friendly' were it not for the marked contrast between pink tongue and sharp, white teeth.  
  
"My apologies," Mako murmured, embarrassed. Katsu, on the other hand, slithered a little further from beneath her jacket, in spite of his strong disdain for dampness, to get a better look at the duo.  
  
" _You speak well._ "  
  
Thalia ducked her head, " _Haven't had much chance to practice._ "  
  
The Marshall cleared his throat, causing Mako to flush. This was highly inappropriate behavior for new acquaintances, though if the rumors were true, it was common for people who would be drift compatible to have this sort of instantaneous connec - no. Best not to get her hopes up.  
  
"Mr. Becket will be assisting you in finding the most compatible duo to pilot Gipsy Danger. Between your knowledge of her new specs and his experience, we should be able to find an acceptable pair."  
  
"You - you will not be piloting?" Mako asked, stunned.  
  
Becket shook his head, "It wouldn't be possible." A black cat popped its head out of the satchel he had slung over his shoulder, gold dust falling like a fine layer of dust from her fur at every motion. She climbed up onto Becket's shoulders and draped herself over them like an exotic, unnatural scarf.  
  
Mako could only stare, open-mouthed.  
  
Katsu, on the other hand, was nowhere near as circumspect: "How?" he asked, lapsing into English for the first time that day.  
  
"We wish we knew," Calliope replied.  
  
"Come," the Marshall said, "best not invite any more gossip than we have to."  
  
Mako followed him to the Shatterdome elevator on auto-pilot.  
  
 _How can we find someone to replace him?_  
  
How could we ask someone to pilot with him?


	3. Chapter 3

The elevator ride could have been awkward, but Raleigh coaxes Cal back into his backpack before anyone gets close enough to really  _see_  her. She huffs a little, but she understands the necessity. After that, he occupies himself with Thalia: crouching beside her and finger-combing some of her fur in a lame attempt at grooming while the two scientists bicker with each other and the Marshall and his protégée politely ignore him.  
  
Thalia rolls her eyes at him, whispering, “Want me to stay behind?”  
  
He nods, throat too tight for words. Raleigh doesn’t actually enjoy being apart from his daemon, he doesn’t think anyone does, but separation was required for all Jaegar pilots and it meant that they never had to leave Calliope alone. He knew, intellectually, that Cal never really was alone, that she was connected to him in almost the same way that Thalia was… but he couldn’t stand the thought of her feeling left behind.  
  
He couldn’t stand the thought of Yancy –  
  
“Come, Mr. Becket, we’ll give you thr tour.”  
  
“I’d rather see where I’ll be bunking first, if you don’t mind,” Raleigh said with a small, patently false, grin, “it was a long trip and we’re  _all_  a little too tired to be much good around people.”  _I want everyone and their brother knowing about Cal just as much as you do, Marshall. We’re not a sideshow act, we don’t want to be the latest ‘Dome gossip._  
  
We’re freaks enough, as is.


	4. An Interlude with Science and Gossip

"The new pilot seemed a little...weird," Newt remarked absently, several hours after first seeing the man.  
  
Hermann, used to his colleague's untimely non sequiturs, rolled his eyes heavenward, "He's not a new  _pilot_ , he's a new  _consultant_ , don't you listen when the Marshall speaks?"  
  
Newt frowned down at his daemon, perched in his lap before continuing, "But, that  _was_  Raleigh Becket, right? The Becket that took out Knifehead?" Ella nodded encouragingly at him before turning her attention back to the specimen they were cultivating, her tiny paws just dextrous enough to rotate the dual-visor microscope.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"A pilot."  
  
" _Yes_ ," Margot hooted softly from Hermann's shoulder, sharing his exasperation.  
  
"And they just refurbished his jaeger."  
  
" _Yes_ , Newton, all true. They couldn't refurbish his  _brother_ , though," Hermann retorted.  
  
Margot nipped his ear, "Uncalled for."  
  
Hermann rolled his eyes, "Stop dropping Americanisms, liebling."  
  
"Couldn't they find him a new Drift partner, like they did with Hansen?" Newt continued, undeterred.  
  
"Perhaps he is like the Marshall, incapable of Drifting after piloting solo."  
  
Newt frowned, and Hermann geared himself up for more useless debate, but Ella's tail abruptly went stiff and straight, bushing out like she'd been struck by lightning and the smaller man's attention was instantly captured by whatever was on the slide.  
  
Hermann sighed and resigned himself to continuing the discussion whenever the haze of kaiju discovery lifted enough for the groupie to remember his questions. Meanwhile, there were formulas to check and attacks to predict.


	5. Chapter 5

Mako didn’t know what to say as she led the ranger to his new quarters – across from hers, something she’d planned out when she still hoped to pilot with the man. What  _could_  she say? Everything she’d thought about him, everything she’d planned, had been based on his files from before Knifehead, and the scant records that documented his recovery. Records that had obviously either been edited, or were never complete to begin with, which –  
  
“There is no mention of your brother’s daemon in your records,” she blurted out.  
  
Katsu let out a sibilant laugh, more of a ‘ssss ssss ssss’ than a true chuckle.  
  
“Cal was able to hide most of the time I was in the ‘Dome hospital, and I didn’t stay long.” He glanced over at her, “None of us really liked the idea of being experiments, and we didn’t really see how knowing would benefit the program.” He chuckled grimly, “Sign up to be a Ranger! Save the world! Steal your drift partner’s soul!”  
  
Twin growls erupted from the two daemons, Calliope’s accompanied by a black paw extending from the rucksack to swipe, claws extended, at the back of Becket’s neck.  
  
“You stole  _nothing_ ,” Thalia snarled softly, ever mindful of the possibility of being overheard, though no-one was in the hall with them. Even the Marshall had split off a few minutes ago, probably to go inform the candidates of the change in the plan.  
  
Becket sighed, swiping one hand over the red scratches on the back of his neck. Mako got the impression that it was an argument they’d all had before. She stifled a shiver at the thought of Katsu being taken from her, and clenched her hands around her clipboard to stop herself from reaching up to him for a reassuring stroke.  
  
Katsu lifted himself away from her neck to look directly at Becket, “We can’t be stolen, you know, not really. We can be separated, we can be killed, but that doesn’t change what we are or  _who_.”  
  
Becket stared at the snake, and Mako wasn’t sure what the look on his face meant. She didn’t know whether he was reacting to what Katsu had said, or the fact that Katsu was breaking all bonds of propriety and  _speaking to someone not his person_.  
  
“I – “ he broke off, swallowing, and stopped in the middle of the hall.  
  
They stood there for what felt like an age, just staring at each other, before Thalia finally got fed up and butted her head against the back of the Ranger’s knee, knocking him forward a little.  
  
“He’s not saying anything we haven’t said,” she murmured quietly.  
  
“I know, it’s just – “  
  
“You wanted independent confirmation,” Calliope groused, “as if we wouldn’t tell you the truth.” She pulled herself a little farther from the rucksack and stared over at Mako, her golden eyes bright and piercing: “Thank you,” she said quietly, “he won’t always listen to us. His is the kind of stubbornness that needs more than one voice of reason.”  
  
 _Is that why you’re still here?_  Mako wondered,  _Because he needs you?_  She watched Beckett throw a fondly exasperated look at the cat daemon, and felt a little stir of discomfort.  _Or because he **wants**  you?_


	6. Chapter 6

Raleigh found the accommodations to be about what he expected. The room was maybe a little larger than the one he'd shared with Yancy, and the bed lacked an upper bunk, but on the whole it had the same industrial feel that he had associated with home from ages 17 to 22.

"Thanks," he said to Mori, the girl - no, woman - was still hovering in the doorway. He stared at her for a moment, ignoring Calliope squirming out of the rucksack to climb onto his back. "What do you think of all this?" he asked, making a gesture that was meant to encompass his presence, the situation with the daemons, and all the potential fallout.

Mori - Mako - stared at him with wide eyes, "I..."

Her daemon, he still hadn't caught the snake's name, slithered forward, extending his head almost a full foot out in front of Mako: "You're not what we expected."

Mako flushed, "That is, I never expected - "

Raleigh smiled wryly, "Who would?"

"You are not the man your records suggest you would be. I expected..." she shrugged, "it does not matter what I expected. I made preparations for a plan, and a man, that no longer exists." Mako stared at him searchingly, "I think...I think that you will do all you can for this program, for the world, but I also think that none of us can be sure exactly what that is, or will be - "

He stared at her.

"Not even you, Mr. Becket," she finished with a small smile. "If you will excuse me, I will leave you to settle. Please comm me when you feel ready for your tour." With that, she offered a small, sincere bow, and then left.

"I like her," Calliope decided.


	7. Chapter 7

Raleigh was grateful that the comm system was similar enough to the Cisco ‘Dome that he didn’t have to wander back out into the hallways to find Mako.  After she had left it had really only taken him about twenty minutes to unpack and get settled.

And ten of those minutes were spent arguing with his daemons.

“Thalia should go with you.”

Raleigh scowled, “What if someone comes in?”

Calliope stared at him: “I’m a black cat.  _Black_.  And who’s going to come in?”

“I don’t know!  People!”

Thalia made a sound that was suspiciously close to laughter.

Calliope huffed, tail lashing about, “This is _ridiculous -_ ”

“Why can’t she come with us?” Thalia asked, breaking in.

“What?”

“ _What._ ”

Thalia’s ears flattened against her skull, “Well, this is a ‘Dome.  If anyone is going to understand what happened…it will be the people here.”

“People in ‘Domes may be more tolerant…but this is…” Raleigh trailed off.

“I’m too _strange_ ,” Calliope finished for him bitterly.

“That’s not – I just – gah!”

“ _Very_ helpful, Rals.”

“Hush, you,” Thalia cut in, “I think that we should lay all our cards on the table.  I just don’t want – I can’t handle… _Juneau_ , Raleigh.  I can’t.  I just _can’t._ ”

Rather than mock the other daemon’s lack of coherence as she had their human’s, Calliope jumped down from where she’d been pacing on the bed to nuzzle against the agitated husky daemon.  Thalia’s fur was bristling, her shoulders hunched and tail tucked as she sat on the ground.

“That wasn’t your fault, _either_ of your faults,” Raleigh whispered.

Calliope’s muzzle was pressed to Thalia’s, though her words were for the man: “It was mine.”

“No!”

“Face it, without me you wouldn’t have to have these conversations.  You wouldn’t have to worry about this.  Your lives would be so much easier if I had just – “

“NO!”  Raleigh fell to his knees, wrapping his arms tightly around both daemons, “Cal… I wouldn’t have survived without you.  I would have died in the snow, next to Gipsy’s corpse.  Without you, I wouldn’t be here, _neither_ of us would be here.”

Thalia whuffed softly in agreement.

There was a long pause as the three relaxed into one another, just breathing together.  They ignored the gold dust softly shimmering from Calliope’s coat, disappearing before it hit the ground, they ignored the oppressive heat radiating from Thalia’s shaggy coat, and they ignored the tears slowly trickling down Raleigh’s face.

“So,” Calliope said, breaking the silence, “are we coming out?”

Raleigh laughed, the sound a little strained through his tears, “Yeah, I guess we are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you all feel about witch!Sasha?
> 
> (Part of me really wants to write bear!Tendo. NGL.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some family stuff come up recently that has delayed posting. NOTHING'S ABANDONED, but posts may be slower (but longer!). I wasn't going to post this yet, but I feel bad about not posting recently. So, um, here?

Mako says nothing when Thalia and Calliope follow Raleigh out of his room, but she does bite her lip and Katsu’s coils make a soft shushing sound as he slithers into a knot around her neck. She does them the courtesy of not questioning their choice, but her apprehension is obvious.

And, it turns out, surprisingly unfounded. The first part of the tour takes them by the mess hall, through the (currently unoccupied) kwoon, and, on the whole, past very few people. Those few they do encounter are busy enough that they don’t see the black cat slinking past at the husky daemon’s tail.

Raleigh can’t help a smile, remembering the single-minded intensity with which he and Thalia used to focus on anything and everything jaeger-related. They’d spent hours pouring over Gipsy’s schematics, hammering the engineering know-how necessary to understanding their baby into their skulls through sheer persistence. Yancy had been the mechanically minded one, and Calliope had always been able to rattle off the stats of various mechs at the drop of a hat. It came easy to them, the way the more physical aspects of jaegar piloting came easy to Raleigh and Thalia.

They balanced each other out, that way.

The fivesome wasn’t rendered complacent by the lack of attention, but they had relaxed a little by the time they reached the hanger. The tension flooded right back, though, when they were met at the entryway by a familiar face.

“Raleigh!” Tendo’s face lit up at the sight of the younger man, “How you been, broth –“ His words were cut off by a shriek from his daemon as she fairly leapt from his shoulder, flapping clumsily over to land on the grate beside Calliope.

“Cal?” Carmen chirped in disbelief.

Tendo went white with shock, “H-how?” He looked frantically around the hallway, staring past Mako and Raleigh. “Is Yancy – did he survive, was it a cover? Where – “

“Yancy’s dead,” Calliope said softly, shoulders bunching up and hair raising.

“Then how are you still here?” Carmen asked.

“That’s the trillion-dollar question,” Thalia muttered.

“Rals?” Tendo asked, staring at him.

The blonde ducked his head, unconsciously mimicking Calliope’s posture. “We were still connected when he was torn out of the Drift, Tendo. I stayed in, and Cal… she helped me pilot Gipsy through the end of the fight. We – we don’t know how it happened, or why she’s still here.”

Tendo blinked rapidly, “Well. Well, that’s…” He shook his head, “I – it’s good to see you Rals, but I gotta – “ He turned sharply on his heel and walked away, back into the hanger and then hanging a sharp right. Carmen stared at Calliope a moment longer before offering whispering a soft, “Sorry,” and flapping off after her human.

Mako stared at Raleigh worriedly as his two daemons instantly bundled themselves against each of his sides, Thalia pushing her head hard against one hand while Calliope held herself up on her hind legs to reach the other.

He rested his fingers against their skulls, lightly rubbing their ears for a moment. When he finally looked up to meet Mako’s concerned look, his eyes were overbright and his smile was plastic: “Anymore old friends I should know are hangin’ around?”

Mako shook her head mutely, “Most of the ‘Cisco ‘Dome’s personnel chose to take the pension after it was shut down. Mr. Choi and his wife were the only ones to make the move to Sydney.”

“His wife?”

“Allison, she was – “

“A tech. I remember her. I remember when they met…” He shook his head.

“He’ll come around,” Thalia said confidently.

“Or I’ll pin that flibbertygibbet’s tailfeathers to the ground with my claws and make him settle down,” Calliope muttered.

Raleigh smiled briefly at the two daemons’ antics, then visibly gathered himself. “One person down, only a few thousand more to go, let’s do this.” He looked up to see Mako giving him a small, hopeful smile and beyond her, Stacker Pentecost standing at parade rest in the doorway.

“The ‘other few thousand’ aren’t from the ‘Frisco ‘Dome,” Pentecost said. “In this case, that may make more of a difference than you’d expect.” Iphigenia came up beside him, adding, “And Tendo always was a little…flighty.”

It wasn’t really even that funny, but the daemon’s comment still relieved the some of the leftover tension in the hall.

“Come,” Pentecost motioned the duo forward, “once more unto the breach.”

Calliope sprang forward, muttering: “Or close the wall up with our dead.”

Nobody noticed the sharp look Iphigenia shot the smaller daemon as they followed the Marshall into the light, but look she did, with tail lashing and thoughts racing through her sharp mind.

**Author's Note:**

> KMeme post from: http://pacificrimkink.livejournal.com/2747.html?thread=3180987#t3180987
> 
> I post there first, but I'll move stuff here within a day or three...and am currently asking permission to post here entirely, instead. The thread system makes my brain hurt.
> 
> Daemon-guide so far:  
> Raleigh: husky named Thalia  
> Yancy: black cat named Calliope  
> Stacker: lioness named Iphigenia  
> Mako: snake named Katsu (no breed yet)  
> Newt: squirrel, nicknamed 'Ella'  
> Hermann: owl named Margot  
> Tendo: parrot named Carmen
> 
> Images here on my tumblr:  
> http://amusewithaview.tumblr.com/post/62443517609/daemons-for-the-au-im-writing-right-now


End file.
